EA Access, the new subscription gaming service from EA, is now available to Xbox One console owners. Just log in and download the EA Access app, and you'll have unlimited access to a select grouping of EA titles for $4.99 per month, or $29.99 per year. The service launches with FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Battlefield 4, and Peggle 2. The company says there is more to come, and that one a game is added to the Vault, it stays there. So, for your money, you get unlimited access to a growing list of EA games. Additionally, EA Access members get 10% off on EA digital purchases on Xbox One. PlayStation 4 gamers are left out here, as Sony doesn't think its gamers want to pay a $5 per month all-you-can-eat subscription fee for EA content.

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Museums must have something against Roger Ebert. First, the Smithsonian American Art Museum holds an exclusive video game event earlier this year, and now the New York City Museum of Modern Art is following suit.

MoMA is officially bringing in 14 videogame classics to begin an ongoing gaming collection that will go on display in March 2013 in the Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries. Currently, the included games feature obvious choices such as Pac-Man, modern games like Portal, and obscure games like vib-ribbon. The collection MoMA is aiming for consists of about 40 titles, which will fall in as part of a “new category of artworks.”

Innovation in video games is terrific—sometimes. But with certain ideas and series, particularly the simplest ones, the smartest thing to do can be to just expand and build on the concept but not change it very much. That's the choice Valve Software has made with Portal 2, the ravenously awaited sequel to the addictive and brain-twisting 2007 first-person puzzler. Judging from our initial half-day with the game, Valve has chosen wisely.

The original Portal, first released as part of the Orange Box collection, was maddening because it was so straightforward, and delightful because of its rampant dementedness. As a test subject trapped in the Aperture Science building, you were armed only with a gun that could create up two dimensional portals: shoot a blue one, shoot an orange one, then run through one to emerge from the other. Strategy and physics played key roles as you struggled to discover what happened to the all the office workers, evade turret fire and pits of foul-looking liquid, and determine what the nature was of the teasing and tormenting computer (the Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, or GLaDOS) that made jokes at your expense every 30 seconds.

Portal succeeded because its formula was both hard to screw up but easy to love. It was both rigorously adult (some of the levels were hard, and many of the bonus boards all but impossible), and yet faultlessly cute (who can forget the baby-voiced android weapons, or the Weighted Companion Cube emblazoned on all six sides with hearts). This meant that anyone of any age could play it, and because it required just a handful of keys or buttons (far fewer than the average shooter), you didn't even need to be an experienced gamer. As if realizing this, Valve even structured the game to provide to provide its own fully integrated tutorial so you could master tricky concepts without being aware you were learning everything.

In fact, the most commonly cited problem with the game was that it was too short: Nineteen levels and it was done. For years, people have been crying out for more levels and more snappy wit—and with Portal 2, that is what Valve has almost exclusively provided.

The PlayStation Blog tells us that one of the most popular iOS game is coming to the PS3 and PSP this week. Angry Birds will feature 63 levels and be playable on the console. Classified as a 'mini' game, this means that it will likely not be on the scale of a full console release, and instead most likely look a lot like its iOS counterpart. Still, while many developers port console or PC games to the iPhone, this is a rare case of the reverse, where after being so immensely popular on Apple's platform, they are now expanding to other systems. Rovio, the company behind Angry Birds, announced that we will see the game on Xbox 360 and Wii soon also.

Who says gamers don’t need love? A Philadelphia Craigslist ad has surfaced likening the squishy feeling of romantic entanglement with the cold hard random shapes of Tetris. “The long piece” - the piece that Tetris fans long for in all of their games is what this Craigslist seeking gamer longs for in his love life.

“You know how in Tetris you keep getting all these pieces you don’t want and you keep piling them up on right side of the screen, wondering how many squares you can get in a row when suddenly the long piece comes out of nowhere and for a moment makes everything disappear? Sometimes I feel as if my dating life is like that. I am waiting for my long piece.”

If that isn’t poetic than I don’t know what is! C’mon, there has to be some gamer girl out there for this guy. You don’t even have to be a gamer to appreciate this level of wittiness. Someone just give this guy a long piece… ahem, you know what I mean.

E3 2009 was a complete overload of news, games and people. But even in the mists of information overload, there were those group of selected games that stood out and kept everyone talking. Regardless if it was a trailer, teaser or an actually playable demo on the show floor, here are some of the game that were so good—they made you want to smack your mother.

APB
All Points Bulletin (APB) is real time worlds new third-person action game for the PC. Equipped with amazing customization and online play make this game stand out from any other PC game announced.

Splinter Cell: Conviction
Sam Fisher makes a comeback with less emo hair and more kick-ass action. The game is looking amazing and after the only wait, I am extremely excited to play this game.

We wondered why we kept seeing the almost intelligible Google logo of late, until we realized it was in honor of 25 years of the puzzle game. If you were one of those who saw it in your head after playing for hours, shame on you. If you weren’t, have your own marathon with the David de Niese’s unlicensed NES Cafe Tengen Tetris. We bet you will get hooked enough to have your own nightmares.

Adding to their movie and music downloading/streaming, Amazon has ventured into the video game business. Designed for the casual gamer, the beta Amazon Game Downloads has about 600 titles for $10.00 or less. They are also offering 30 minutes of play before you decide to buy. As a happy aside, you can get 3 freebies through February 10, Jewel Quest II, Build-a-lot and the Scruffs. The only catch is that the offer is only available in the U.S. for now.

If you find yourself still playing Classic video games, take a trip in time at Arcade Cow. They feature over 7000 free games that they have collected. Included are various action, arcade, strategy and puzzle games. They are all free to play and gamers can post on the forum and rate them. Those who remember the addictive play of Mario Bros. and Castlevania should be pleased and although they appear elementary now, younger players may appreciate the roots of today’s gaming.

Remember how much coinage you lost at the arcades? Now you can play a couple of those old games and save some cash at the same time. Every time you feed the Arcade Gaming Bank a penny, it will let you play either Tetris or Breakout. You can get a lot of practice in for a dollar if you can get used to the smaller screen. The retro mini-game is available for ¥3850 ($39.50.)